Once a Pond a Time
by veredgf
Summary: Mulder and Scully are investigating sightings of ghostly behavior at a secluded pond where a lonely swing hangs. (Takes place some time after the Anasazi Trilogy).


_Notes: Story was written for a challenge for the facebook group "The X-Files Fanfic Writer's Guild". It's my first attempt at creating a fanfic based on an image and limited to a certain amount of words (that was truly the hardest part). Time-wise I'd put it just after the events of the Anasazi Trilogy. Final thing - XF and M &S aren't my own creation, but I love dwelling in their world *grin*._  
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 **"Once a Pond a Time"**

Scully was startled out of her dream by soft clicking sounds. Her eyelids flew wide open but it was only darkness that greeted her. She blinked, trying to make some sense of her surroundings. The clicking sound continued. Then she recalled the day before; it was another weird case Mulder had picked up from a local tabloid. Another bizarre folks' tale he just _had_ to go out and investigate, and of course, it was yet another secluded section in the middle of nowhere.

Then she realized what the strange sound was; it was her tent flap being slowly unzipped. Adrenaline kicked in as her body went on full alert. Carefully, she slithered out of her sleeping bag and reached for her flashlight. Next, she grabbed her gun and aimed it squarely at the tent's front flap, waiting for the intruder to show his or her face.

Finally the zipping ceased and a head peered through the flap. Scully quickly shone her flashlight at the uninvited guest. "Stop, or I'll shoot!"

"Scully!"

"Dammit, Mulder! Why are you sneaking on me like this?!" she hissed as she dropped both her gun and her flashlight into her lap.

"Jeez, Scully!" Mulder let out as he widened the zipper gap and slid into her tent.

"Mulder? What _exactly_ are you doing?"

She could hear him snort as he plopped unceremoniously onto the tent floor. "It's not what you're thinking of, Scully."

"And what exactly _am_ I thinking of?" she said in that half pissed, half joking tone of hers.

He didn't answer, but she could see his teeth glisten in the meager moonlight that came in through the open flap.

"So what brought you to my tent at this oh so early in the morning?"

"It's actually just past midnight, to be precise."

"Seriously?" Deep inside, she was mourning the loss of her blissful sleep. Just the thought of the next day made her shoulders sag.

"Dead serious," he replied. "I thought you'd be excited. This is the hour of night when the ghosts come to play with the swing. I'm gonna make sure we get front and center seats."

"Gre…eaaat…" Scully responded lethargically, unable to control her yawn. "Mulder…" she moaned. All she truly wanted was to slide right back into her sleeping bag and vegetate late into the morning.

"What?" he asked, his voice so upbeat, Scully felt she couldn't crush his enthusiasm.

"Nothing. Let me put on my shoes and something warm and I'll be right with you."

"Yee haa!" he cheered and she could feel the entire tent shudder as he got up and exited the flimsy structure.

She tried to get dressed as quickly as possible but her weary body refused to obey. Her shoelaces threw a tantrum as she insisted on tying them up and she got tangled within her sweatshirt sleeves as she forced herself into it. Finally, a good number of curses later, she was up and ready for duty. She tucked her gun and flashlight into the back of her pants and joined Mulder who was pacing impatiently outside her tent.

"Did you take a long bubble bath or something?!" he asked as they headed for the pond.

She laughed. "Sure I did. I'll invite you to join me next time."

Her reply relaxed his angry stature and his giddiness returned. "I brought a video camera. I'm gonna get actual proof this time," he stressed as he patted his backpack. "And just to be on the safe side, there are at least four VHS tapes and a couple extra battery packs so I'll be able to capture everything."

"That's good planning, Mulder," she told him, even though she felt this was going to be just another wild goose chase.

The two agents hurried through the woods till they reached the opening. The tiny secluded pond was even more enchanting at night than it was during the day. The moon towered right above the pond's still water, coating the area with an eerie bluish hue. Scully found herself holding her breath, as if she were waiting for something to drop. Then she noted the strange silence that suddenly fell upon the place. She couldn't recall a forest as quiet as this one. There were no cricket chirps and no rustling of tiny creatures about the shrubs and their absence sent shivers through her spine. It was definitely out of the ordinary, especially as she'd become quite a woodland expert thanks to her X-Files stint.

If not for the swing, the tiny wood-surrounded pond would have felt wild, as if no man had ever been around to tame it. The swing was so out of place, yet so perfectly placed, Scully wanted to let go of the FBI woman and set loose the child within her so she could hop on it, and move backwards and forwards and let the motion just carry her thoughts away. It was so inviting, it was making it harder than ever to keep to her G-Woman façade. Then she heard them. At first she thought it was just the wind playing tricks with her mind. Their voices sounded so faint and distant and they came on so gradually, it took her mind more time than usual to register them. When she realized what she was hearing, she didn't feel shocked or suspicious. No, counter to her characteristic demeanor, she felt exhilarated. She wanted to hear them better, to understand what they were saying. Gradually their voices became louder and clearer. They were children and they were chanting a song.

 _"One of us you are._

 _Come to visit from afar_

 _On the swing to-and-fro_

 _Hop you will_

 _And your thoughts will go."_

As the last syllable died, as if on cue, the swing began to move back and forth. At first it seemed as if the wind was playing with the dangling contraption as the movement was so subtle, but slowly the swing's motion took flight and went into a steady up and down rhythm, one could never attribute to wind.

"Hop on the swing, Dana. It's OK. Don't be afraid." The voices cooed.

She tried but she couldn't fight it any longer. She found herself running towards the swing and as it came close, she grabbed hold, steadied it, and then sat on it. The moment her feet left the ground, the swing began to move, and in less than half a minute she felt as if she were levitating above ground as the hanging seat sped on its own volition. She was like a child on a roller coaster, unable to control herself as adrenaline rushed through her body. She was screaming and giggling excitedly. She was happy and content. She had nothing to worry about, nobody to care for; this was all she needed in the world.

As the swing flew above the pond's still water, she caught site of her reflection, only that the person looking back at her wasn't Dana Scully the FBI Agent, but a young child about eight years of age, her hair pulled back into two pony tails tied with dark blue ribbons, and her cheeks as pink as roses. Scully recognized the child; it was her. From behind her young self's reflection, Scully could make out the figures of numerous other children. Their arms outstretched towards her, as if they were waiting for her to jump right into them. _Why not?_ She asked herself, and at that, she let go of the swing and dived into the water.

She'd expected it to feel cold, but it was just perfect. What's more, despite it being nighttime, the water was brightly lit and she could make out the faces of the children waiting down below. "Come to us, Dana," they called out to her, their voices clear as if they weren't at all underwater. She was eager to reach them, and she swam downwards, pushing the water behind her as hard as she could. Then she caught a glimpse of her arms and she realized they were the pudgy little arms of a child. She paused for a flicker of a second to get a quick look at her body. She wasn't wearing her field clothes anymore. Instead, she was barefoot and dressed in a white T and overall jeans, just as she used to when she was that tomgirl leading Bill and Charlie through the local woods on imaginary missions. She let out a foolish giggle, then she realized the children were calling her name. "Dana, come on!" and she pushed herself forward till she was almost touching their fingertips…

"Scully!"

Scully blinked. She looked around. She wasn't in the water anymore. In fact, she wasn't even wet. She was still standing at the edge of the pond. What had just happened?

"Let's go, Scully."

"Mulder? What happened?" she asked her partner as she followed him back into the woods.

"Nothing happened!" he spat out angrily. "We… well, _I_ , was duped."

"Oh…" She was confused. Obviously he'd not experienced whatever it was she had had. But what exactly _had_ she experienced?

"I found out their little box of tricks; a mechanical contraption that moves the swing back and forth and operates a recording of children singing." As he said that, he emphasized his bitterness with a hefty kick that spread dust and leaves about them. "I'm _so_ sick and tired of all these frauds and hoaxes," he cried out.

She didn't acknowledge his emotional outburst. She was too perturbed by her own ordeal to say much about Mulder's alternative one.

"Yeah, I know what you're thinking, Scully. Never mind. Let's just pack ourselves and get the _hell_ out of here."

No. That was the last thing she wanted. They _had_ to stay. She _had_ to get back to that place. She _had_ to. "Mulder, let's just go to sleep. We can leave in the morning. You're not fit to drive in this state anyway."

"Sure. Fine. Whatever." He trudged into his tent, completely deflated.

* * *

Mulder opened his eyes gradually. Strong light poured in from the tent window. It was late in the morning and he'd slept in.

"Mulder?"

His heart skipped a beat. "Scully?! What the hell?!" She'd been lurking within the tent's shadows. "How long have you been staring at me like this?"

"I'm sorry."

Even through his groggy state, Mulder could tell something was off about her. "What's wrong?"

"I want to stay here another night. I think there's more to this case than meets the eye."

The memory of yesterday's disappointing outcome came back to him like a kick in the gut. "There's nothing more to check here, Scully," he shot at her. "I'd have thought you'd be the _first_ to pack up and leave this crummy place."

The light flowing through the window illuminated her features. Her face was a mixture of fear, sadness and hope. "Scully? Did you… _see_ … something last night?"

"I don't know if it was real or just a dream brought up by my subconscious, but I'd like to stay and find out."

"I'm listening," he told her and the grateful appreciation that lit her face was overwhelming. Hesitantly, she led him through her experience. When she'd finished, he didn't know exactly what to make of it.

"I know I sound like a raving lunatic," she apologized.

He chuckled. "Finally getting a taste of your own medicine, Dr. Scully?"

She averted her gaze, clearly being miles from her comfort zone.

"I guess we can give this place one more chance," he told her.

* * *

Here they were once again by the pond at midnight. It was Scully who woke him up this time and she also led the way through the shrubs at a hasty pace like a child dreading she'd miss out on all the fun. He tried to let her enthusiasm rub off on him, but the task was turning out much harder than he'd anticipated.

"Can you hear their voices?" Scully asked, breathless with excitement.

He'd destroyed the mechanical contraption he'd discovered the night before, so whatever it was Scully was hearing, it was all in her mind. He looked at her, her eyes wide open and glistening in the moonlight. She was different. It was like a weight had been lifted off of her and she was set loose. He envied her. Why couldn't he feel like her?

"Mulder… let's go, they're calling us," Scully let out and ran to the swing.

He couldn't hear a thing. The place was quiet as a graveyard. The only sound was the creaking of the swing as Scully went up and down and up and… suddenly he realized a very faint pitch joined in with the steady rhythm of the swing. The sound gradually got stronger till it became the voices of children singing. It was nothing like the recording he'd heard the day before.

By then, Scully was almost flying in the air with the swing's movement. She let out cries of pure joy and finally the feeling was catching up with him. He couldn't wait for his turn at the swing.

All of a sudden, Scully called out to him, "See you on the other side, Mulder!" and with that she hopped off the swing in mid-air and dove straight into the pond.

He grinned foolishly, taking Scully's action in stride, as if this were something she did every day. "I'm coming, Scully," he called out to her and got on the swing. He stood on it, holding the ropes loosely, not an ounce of worry in his entire body. As the swing flew up and down through the air, Mulder howled like a wild animal, just as he used to do as a child, playing Tarzan and Jane with Sam, both of them dangling from ropes attached to the treehouse in their garden. Those were the final days of pure innocence, just before Samantha was taken. He had nothing to worry about back then aside from his sister being a pesky brat at times. He felt great. He couldn't remember when he'd last felt that way. He looked down at the reflection of the young boy staring back at him from the pond and outstretched his arm. The boy did the same and Mulder knew he was staring at himself, the way he used to be before the darkness consumed him.

"Fox," the children sing-sang, "come join us."

And join he did. As if he were an Olympic diver, Fox Mulder jumped off the swing into a mid-air summersault and then dove into the water.

The pond's water welcomed him. Mulder glided through it like a fish, honing his swimming training to the task. It had been many years since he participated in the school's swimming team, and yet he felt just as he did at the height of his swimming 'career'. Even though Scully had jumped in a good number of minutes before him, he was gaining on her quite easily. Of course, she was merely eight years old in this strange place of existence and he was… he realized he hadn't a clue how old he was, but he knew he, too, had transformed back into a child. He also knew that the redheaded kid in the jeans overalls was Scully, even though he'd never seen a photo of her at that age. He didn't understand it. It was just a given fact for him, as if he'd always known it.

Finally he caught up with her. He grabbed her hand and she stopped mid-paddle and flew into his arms with a joyous squeal. "I knew it was real!" she let out with the voice of an eight year old.

"Scully, this is incredible! I haven't felt this great in years," he cried out, exhilarated.

"Let's go deeper," she told him as she resumed her downward-paddle. "They're waiting for us."

He didn't need any further convincing. He quickly aimed his body downwards, and joined his partner, but no sooner he'd resumed his swimming than he heard the sound of a familiar voice.

"Fox, please don't leave me behind. Please don't forget about me."

Fox Mulder stopped mid-swim and looked behind him. It was Samantha. She looked deep into his eyes. She was the same age he'd last seen her. "You can come too, Sam," he called out to her and offered his hand.

"No Fox. I can't. I'm not really here. Neither are you."

"But…" his voice trailed off as he caught sight of Sam's deploring brown eyes. He looked behind him. Scully had continued swimming and he so wanted to join her.

"Please, Fox," Samantha begged.

Suddenly he wasn't feeling so great anymore. Sadness washed through his body. He was torn between his need to let go of his life's hardships and the reason he had to keep on living that life.

"Fox…"

Mulder blinked and found himself lying on the pond's bank, staring at the moon-lit sky. He sat up and looked around. Beside him Scully lay unresponsive, her eyes wide open. He shook her, trying to break the trance's spell. She remained passive. He tried again, and again. Finally he was going to check her pulse when she gasped.

"Mulder!"

He grabbed hold of her hand and helped her up. He looked deep into her sad blue eyes. "I'm sorry," he told her. "I had to go back."

"I know," she said softly.

"You could have stayed," he told her, even though that was the last thing he wanted.

"No, I couldn't."

He squeezed her hand, knowing this was the only gesture she would allow him to offer her for her sacrifice.

"One day, when the time is right, we will come back to this pond, Mulder. Until then, its secret will remain safe with us."

 **THE END**


End file.
